Part of the Human Chain Protest against Akkuyu Nuclear Power Station. Photo by Nedim Ardoğa, CC-BY-SA 3.0, via Wikipedia

Opponents and supporters alike have compared Turkey’s Islamist President Erdogan to a Caliph. Since he is an Islamist, no one should be surprised that he appears to have the same apparent aversion to free speech and environmentalism as President Putin. In 2010, 58 people were prosecuted in Turkey “on the grounds of their participation in an anti-nuclear demonstration in front of the Parliament.” [I] Russia’s nuclear behemoth, Rosatom, and its subsidiaries, apparently only answer to President Putin. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government-owned_corporation#Russia

Russia was accused, in January 2014, of having started construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Station, even while lacking construction and environmental permits. [II] A look at Google Earth suggests that this may be accurate.
After the invasion of Crimea, should this be a surprise? After all, this is Russia’s BOO (build, own, and operate) model, so it seems that they now own the land. Not only should Turkey be alarmed, but Cyprus, which faces this proposed nuclear power station, should be alarmed as well, especially considering Russia’s track record at the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Station in India and elsewhere (e.g. Chernobyl, Mayak). Remember that Putin is very much from this dangerous, secretive tradition, as a former KGB officer. (Where people change, it’s generally to return to their roots. Putin’s grandfather was a cook for Lenin and later Stalin. Lenin is widely believed to have been poisoned by Stalin. Need more be said?)

In early January 2015, Greenpeace Turkey filed suit against the inadequacies of the Environmental Impact Assessment [III] for the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Station. Additionally, allegations emerged that the signatures of engineers on the environmental impact statement are fraudulent.

Among major concerns is that transport of nuclear fuel and waste to and from Russia would probably have to go through the dangerously narrow Bosphorus strait, endangering Istanbul, which has a population of 14.1 million. Additionally, earthquake risk-impacts have not been adequately addressed. The coastal site could be subjected to earthquake induced tsunamis, as evidenced by the USGS map of on and off-shore faults. The area is also home to the critically endangered Mediterranean Monk Seal and the endangered Loggerhead Sea Turtle.

Critically Endangered Mediterranean Monk Seal and Endangered Loggerhead Turtles in Danger from Akkuyu Nuclear Power Station

Monachus monachus (Monk seal). The Natural history museum, Milan, Italy. Photo by Giovanni Dall’Orto, CC-BY-SA-2.5, via wikipedia
“The Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) is a pinniped belonging to the Phocidae family. At some 450–510 (fewer than 600) remaining individuals, it is believed to be the world’s rarest pinniped species, and one of the most endangered mammals in the world.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Monk_Seal
“Loggerheads are considered an endangered species and are protected by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loggerhead_sea_turtle

Nuclear reactors legally leak dangerous radionuclides into air and water continually. Cooling water becomes hot in more ways than one. Furthermore, the water intake kills animals and their food sources: “The environmental impact of diverting more than a billion gallons of water per unit per day from a water source such as an ocean or estuary, heating it up, then discharging it at temperatures up to 25 degrees F higher than the surrounding water has been shown to cause significant damage. Not only are marine animals ‘entrained’ or ‘impinged’ by the intake system, but billions of smaller marine organisms, essential to the food web, are also sucked into the reactor operating system and largely destroyed in this process. Entrainment involves the drawing in of marine life through an intake tunnel, pipe, or canal at a velocity the marine animals cannot resist. Once drawn in, they are subject to impingement, becoming trapped against ‘prevention devices’ such as screens, racks, bars, and barrier nets. Larger animals may then drown or suffocate after becoming impinged.

Smaller fish and other organisms may be entrained through the entire reactor system and are often scalded by the heated water before being discharged into the waterway. Others, pulverized by the reactor condenser system, emerge as sediment that clouds the water around the discharge area, often blocking light from the ocean floor. The resulting shadow effect kills plant and animal life around reactor discharge systems by curtailing the light and oxygen they need to survive.” http://www.nirs.org/reactorwatch/licensedtokill/executivesummary.htm See also: http://vault.sierraclub.org/pressroom/media/2011/2011-08-fish-blenders.pdf
More common, but still critically endangered cousin to the Mediterranean Monk Seal, the Hawaiian monk seal:
“Hawaiian monk seal in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, Photo Credit: James Watt (NOAA)”
Their Caribbean cousin, who once roamed the Caribbean, US Gulf Coast, and western Atlantic, is now extinct.

Nuclear Fuel and Waste from the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Station would Endanger IstanbulOn the Bosphorus, Istanbul – Yeniköy, by Josep Renalias, CC-BY-SA-3.0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yalı

Nuclear Waste from the Akkuyu Nuclear Reactor will probably have to travel back to Russia through the dangerously narrow and bending Bosphorus Strait (Istanbul Strait):
“The Bosphorus is a narrow “S-shaped” channel of complex nature with several sharp turns and headlands, which prevent a proper look-out, and with changing currents. Such geographical and oceanographic conditions make the navigation, open to international shipping, very difficult and risky.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_maritime_incidents_in_the_Turkish_Straits

One can guess that the nuclear fuel will arrive from Russia through this narrow waterway, as well as the nuclear waste returning to Russia. Also, reprocessed waste will probably return back to Turkey. Thus it endangers Istanbul, which has a population of 14.1 million, making it the largest urban agglomeration in Europe, the largest in the Middle East, and the sixth-largest city proper in the world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul
“The Bosphorus (/ˈbɒsfərəs/) or Bosporus (/ˈbɒspərəs/; Ancient Greek: Βόσπορος, Bósporos; Turkish: Boğaziçi) is a strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia. The Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles strait to the southwest together form the Turkish Straits. The world’s narrowest strait used for international navigation, the Bosporus connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara (which is connected by the Dardanelles to the Aegean Sea, and thereby to the Mediterranean Sea.)…The Bosporus is also known as “Strait of Constantinople”, or as “Istanbul Strait” (Turkish: İstanbul Boğazı)…. the strait is 31 km (17 nmi) long, with a width of 3,329 m (1.798 nmi) at the northern entrance and 2,826 m (1.526 nmi) at the southern entrance. Its maximum width is 3,420 m (1.85 nmi) between Umuryeri and Büyükdere Limanı, and minimum width 700 m (0.38 nmi) between Kandilli Point and Aşiyan. This part of the strait is a dangerous point for maritime traffic: a 45-degree course alteration is required, and the current can reach 7 to 8 knots (3.6 to 4.1 m/s). To the south, at Yeniköy, the necessary course alteration is 80 degrees. All the dangers and obstacles characteristic of narrow waterways are present and acute in this critical sea lane. At the above-mentioned turns (Kandilli and Yeniköy) where significant course alterations have to be made, the rear and forward sights are totally blocked prior to and during the course alteration. Ships approaching from the opposite direction cannot be seen around these bends. The risks posed by geography are multiplied by the heavy ferry traffic across the strait, linking the European and Asian sides of the city.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosphorus

[III] Based on a Greenpeace article in Turkish: Greenpeace filed Lawsuit filed against the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Station EIA report
News – January 6, 2015

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Mersin Akkuyu nuclear power plant was approved on the 3rd of December 2014. Greenpeace has filed a lawsuit against the report.

The main reasons for the lawsuit regarding the EIA report are the lack of sufficient information on the waste issues in the report; who will be given the economic and social responsibility in case of any accident, and lack of assessment of the earthquake risk.

According to Turkey’s Climate and Energy Campaign coordinator, Devin Bahçeci, although approved by the Urban Development Ministry, the EIA report for the planned nuclear power station is still inadequate. How will the extremely dangerous nuclear waste be transported? While it is uncertain, it will probably move through the Istanbul Strait, endangering Istanbul and its environs. In the EIA report, waste management procedures have not been detailed. Who will take responsibility in the case of an accident is also unclear. Turkey needs to be a leader in energy efficiency and renewables, rather than using dangerous nuclear energy.

Greenpeace says that they had the EIA report analyzed by different institutions and organizations, such as The Institute of Security and Risk Science (ISR) at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, who they state found shortcomings in the part of the EIA report dealing with the transfer and storage of waste materials. They also had it evaluated at the Bilgi University Faculty of Law. According to a report, the nuclear waste will be transported by sea, which contradicts passage of the law governing policy of Turkey’s Bosporus.

The primary reasons for the case opened against the EIA report

This project contains vital risks for Mersin Turkey. Additionally, Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant will harm Turkey, overall. The economic, social and environmental dimensions will cause irreparable damage. It is unacceptable that these deficiencies be filled with a dangerously inadequate EIA report.

Furthermore:

The entire Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant project is a project to be carried out by the Russian government. In case of a nuclear accident, who will accept the economic and social responsibilities for irreversible harm to the environment and living beings is unclear.

For Nuclear responsibility, Turkey has inadequate laws, and regulations are incomplete.

The preparation of the EIA Report has not been a transparent and participatory process.

Even today it is unknown if the Review and Evaluation Commission has taken into account the objections submitted by the public participation process

There is not enough information given on how they they intend to store the hazardous radioactive nuclear waste at the nuclear power plant, nor how it will be transported.

The establishment of the plant has a planned area near fault lines in the EIA report, but the risk of earthquake induced accidents has not been evaluated.

As the risk of accidents, posed by the project, has not been adequately assessed as required, the evacuation plan in case of accidents is not considered part of the international standards.

The damage by the proposed nuclear power station to marine ecosystems has been inadequately evaluated. Of special concern is the critically endangered Mediterranean monk seal and endangered loggerhead turtles.

Dangerous, unclean, plus it makes Turkey dependent on a foreign energy project. A petition against the project found here: http://www.greenpeace.org/turkey/tr/news/akkuyu-ced-raporuna-karsi-dava-actik-060115/ (The above text is based on our understanding of the original Turkish text at the above link. It is simply an effort to generally inform people about this case, until Greenpeace makes one in English. If you are doing research, please contact Greenpeace.)

[I] “Anti-Nuclear Protestors on Trial
Anti-nuclear protestors stand trial because of their protest actions against the agreement with Russia on a nuclear power station. Diken from Greenpeace criticized, ‘We are tried because we made use of our freedom of expression’, 29 October 2010, 58 defendants are being prosecuted in Ankara on the grounds of their participation in an anti-nuclear demonstration in front of the Parliament. They started to give their statements at the Ankara court this week” Read more here: http://www.bianet.org/english/freedom-of-expression/125734-anti-nuclear-protestors-on-trial

Russian state owned nuclear firm, Rosatom, is accused of starting construction on a nuclear plant in Turkey before receiving clearance to do so.

Rosatom has signed a deal to build a nuclear plant in Turkey and in November last year announced it was looking for investors for the $20bn project. The firm said it had already secured funds for the first three years of work.

But the project has yet to obtain a construction licence and approval of a key environmental assessment from Turkish authorities.

An investigation by Greenpeace Turkey suggests the stone quarry Rosatom claims to be operating in the planned Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is actually a cover for construction at the site.

Though the firm has a license for the quarry, much of the construction vehicles, workers, equipment, and worker lodgings fall out of the permitted work site. An area sized 5262 m2 of the excavation area is in old growth forests, according to expert analysis requested by the Mersin Bar Association.

‘The work yard has been built,’ Greenpeace Mediterranean Campaign Unit Head Hilal Atıcı said. ‘It’s clear the construction to build the Akkuyu NPP is going ahead without any proper permits or procedures.’

Rosatom is yet to submit its Environmental Impact Assessment report (EIA) to the Ministry of Environment and Urban planning, meaning the construction is progressing in Akkuyu without a permit.

Additional Information:
“HOW WOULD A COUNTRY THAT DOES NOT TAKE MINE SAFETY INTO CONSIDERATION PROVIDE NUCLEAR SAFETY?… We entered to the reactor chamber by signature without showing our ID, this showed that nuclear materials were not receiving enough protection. …we haven‘t been provided with protective clothing, despite the radiation alert on the plate hanging on the wall of the area where the reactor is found in İTÜ. This situation showed us that human safety is not considered as important… Prof. Dayday shared one of his memories of a worker swimming in the pool of water at the Çekmece Nuclear Reactor in 1960’s. Though it was an old story, it created a bittersweet smile on some of our faces.” English: https://www.amacad. org/multimedia/pdfs/Russian%20tech%20in%20Akkuyu%20-%20Lale%20Kemal.pdf Turkish: http://www.zaman.com.tr/lale-kemal/newsDetail_openPrintPage.action?newsId=2226790
No surprises that someone would innocently go swimming…

“Implications for Earthquake Risk Reduction in the United States from the Kocaeli, Turkey, Earthquake of August 17, 1999, U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1193http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/2000/c1193/c1193.pdf

Turkey’s Caliphate

“Ottoman Caliphate (1453/1517–1924)
The Caliphate was claimed by the Turkish Ottoman sultans, beginning with Mehmed II after his conquest of Constantinople in 1453, while recognizing no authority on the part of the Abbasid caliphs of Cairo.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliphate

“Turkey’s new Caliph: understanding Erdoğan’s hegemony, by John Lubbock, 13 August 2014
“Erdoğan’s authoritarian and arrogant response to protests confirms his opponents’ fears that he is seeking to make himself a strongman ruler in the mould of Vladimir Putin, who also swapped being Prime Minister for President…. This sometimes reckless development drive can also create the conditions for disasters like the recent Soma mine disaster, where 301 miners died in an explosion, weeks after the AKP government had blocked an opposition demand to investigate working conditions in the mine. Erdoğan’s authoritarian and arrogant response to protests about these issues confirms his opponents’ fears that he is seeking to make himself a strongman ruler in the mould of Vladimir Putin, who also swapped being Prime Minister for President.” Read more here: https://www.opendemocracy.net/john-lubbock/turkey%27s-new-caliph-understanding-erdoğ%27s-hegemony